The Trump administration's move to separate immigrant parents from their children on the U.S.-Mexico border has been brewing since the week President Donald Trump took office, when he issued his first order signaling a tougher approach to asylum-seekers.
Since then, the administration has been steadily eroding protections for immigrant families.
Jennifer Podkul is director of policy at Kids in Need of Defense, which represents children in immigration court.
She says the administration is willing to risk harm to children to deter illegal immigration.
The parents' plight was preceded by a series of measures making it harder for kids arriving on the border to get released from government custody and to seek legal status here.
About 2,000 children were separated from their families over a six-week period ending in May.